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18 weeks to Midterm Elections

The AoC Checklist features clear, well-researched actions for Americans who value democracy, equality, voting, and decency. We are a big tent for all people who want a kinder, flourishing nation.

If you only have 10 minutes, take our top three suggested actions:

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In this edition of the AoC Checklist:

Contact your senators

Check the box if you made contact–whether for one issue or all–so we can count your action. Contacting your senators’ staffers with multiple concerns is more efficient for both of you. They don’t mind, but be sure to contact both progressives and conservatives. They need to hear from you.

Look up your senators here.

Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!

Your script: Hi, I’m from [ZIP] calling/writing about several issues. I’d like Sen. [NAME] to:

Contact your House representative

Check the box if you made contact–whether for one issue or all–so we can count your action. Contacting your representative’s staffers with multiple concerns is more efficient for both of you. They don’t mind, but be sure to contact both progressives and conservatives. They need to hear from you.

Look up your House representative here.

Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!

Your script: Hi, I’m from [ZIP] calling/writing about several issues. I’d like Rep. [NAME] to:

I value demo­­­­cracy

With respect and collaboration, we work to create a nation that welcomes all people, expands freedoms, and upholds the Constitution. Each citizen must be able to freely and fairly elect those who represent their values.

Action 1: Verify your voter registration monthly through November.

Source: AoCC

Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!

In March, voters in Texas reported that their registration was canceled without notice or reason while trying to vote in their primary. Don’t let this be you. Commit to checking your registration monthly, even if you think it’s secure.

Visit: Vote.org.


Action 2: Encourage young people to become voters who support reproductive justice.

Source: The Civics Center

Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!

Millions of eligible 18-24 year-olds, a demographic disproportionately affected by the overturning of Roe v. Wade, are not yet registered to vote. These potential voters are the most likely to believe abortion should be legal, but they are among the least likely to show up at the polls. Their votes could make a difference in November.

Share: On your social media The Civics Center graphic to make registering to vote easy (tag The Civics Center on Twitter to show your support).

Donate: to The Civics Center to support their youth voter registration efforts, including National High School Voter Registration Week (September 19-23, 2022).

I value equality

Support the dignity of your rainbow of neighbors from every religion, race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, economic status, age, and ability.

Action 3: Register to vote and encourage others to do the same.

Source: NAACP

Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!

Every person who is eligible to vote in the U.S. has a responsibility to participate in our democracy, yet new voting restrictions in many states are making it difficult for voters of color in particular to register and cast their ballots. The NAACP is partnering with vote.org to overcome these efforts limiting voting access.

Register to Vote: At vote.org, and encourage friends and family to do the same.


Action 4: Advocate for abortion access and reproductive freedom in your state.

Source: AoCC and SisterSong

Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!

Find out your state’s abortion stance: Using this tool.

Contact: Your STATE legislators and governor (look up).

Script: Hello, I’m contacting you from [ZIP] in support of the fundamental human right to abortion access. Denying access to safe abortions will have a devastating impact on the well-being of women and pregnant people. That’s why I’m asking you to introduce, support, and advance legislation, policies, and state constitutional amendments that protect access to and ensure insurance coverage for critical reproductive health services, including abortion, in [STATE].

Feeling overwhelmed? Make a donation to a Practical Support Organization which arranges transportation out of state.


Action 5: Choose five additional actions to support reproductive justice.

Source: Who Not When

Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!

Who Not When created a thorough list of actions you can take to advance abortion access, medical privacy, and reproductive justice. Choose five and make a plan to complete them.

Visit: Roe V. Wade: What You Can Do.


Action 6: Call for inclusive federal nutrition programs.

Source: Feeding America Action

Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!

Contact: The U.S. Department of Agriculture by phone at (703) 305-2062, by mail at Food & Nutrition Service, Braddock Metro Center II, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314, or through the AskUSDA contact form.

Script: Hi. I’m contacting you from [STATE] asking you to make federal nutrition programs more accessible to LGBTQ+ people. LGBTQ+ individuals and families experience higher rates of poverty and hunger, and access to these programs provides much-needed nutrition, health, and economic security. I’m joining advocates in urging your department to use inclusive language in program materials and implement anti-bias training for administrators, caseworkers, and personnel to make these benefits more accessible to the LGBTQ+ community.


Action 7: Advocate against new fossil fuel investments.

Source: Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy (GCCLP)

Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!

Contact: President Biden via the White House contact form.

Script: Hi, I’m contacting you from [STATE] in support of your campaign promise to ban new offshore drilling leases. Our communities, children, and grandchildren deserve clean water, healthy food, and jobs powered by justly-sourced, renewable energy—not fossil fuels that disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, rural, and low-income communities. I join dozens of organizations in urging you to discontinue all new offshore drilling leases, and invest in the nation’s renewable energy security and independence.

Bonus (for residents of the Gulf South): Sign the GCCLP petition.


Action 8: Demand an end to NFL-assisted deportations.

Source: United We Dream

Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!

Contact: The New England Patriots’ Administrative Offices at (508) 543-8200 or via email at customerservice@gillettestadium.com

Script: Hi, I’m [a football fan] reaching out because I strongly oppose the use of the Patriots team airplane to facilitate ICE deportations. The National Football League should not receive government funding to carry out the inhumane transportation of aspiring Americans away from their communities and families. I’m calling on you to reject any future contracts with the DHS, and stop using your resources in this partisan, harmful way.

Alternate: Sign the United We Dream petition (you will be automatically subscribed to their mailing list).


Action 9: Oppose ICE surveillance on American citizens.

Source: AoCC

Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!

Email: The report to your STATE legislators (look up).

Script: A recent report by the Georgetown Law Center on Privacy & Technology shows that ICE is extensively spying on American citizens. This ‘dragnet’ surveillance of myself and my neighbors, is done without any congressional, judicial, or local oversight. It is non-consensual and violates my Fourth Amendment rights. I would like to know:

  1. Does [NAME] support ICE’s practice of accessing state motor vehicle department information and local utilities records to surveil U.S. citizens? 
  2. Will [NAME] read the report in its entirety to understand ICE surveillance practices and their implications?

I look forward to learning what you will be doing in response to this report.

Bonus: Make an appointment to talk to your state legislators or someone on their staff. Print and bring the report to make sure they are aware of it. Most state legislators have a local office and many have specific times when constituents can come to speak with them or a staff person.

Acts of Grati­­­­tude

Signatures to the forms below will be printed with a letter of thanks from Americans of Conscience, and mailed to the recipient 2 weeks after the Checklist publication date. Your information will not be stored after that date.

Thank the conservative-leaning Washington Examiner its editorial condemning the actions of the former president on January 6th, 2020. I agree that our democracy needs principled leaders who respect their constituents and uphold the Constitution.

If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: Carly Hagan, ℅ Washington Examiner, 1152 15th St. NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20005


Thank Govs. Charlie Baker (R–MA),  Lujan Grisham (D–NM), and Tim Walz (D-MN) for protecting the reproductive rights of all people, not just those living in their states, by signing an executive order preventing state agencies from cooperating in the investigation, arrest, or surrender of anyone criminally charged by another state for seeking or providing an abortion.

If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use these addresses:
CB: State Office Building, 436 Dwight St., Suite 300, Springfield, MA 01103
LG: NM State Capitol, 490 Old Santa Fe Trail, Room 400, Santa Fe, NM 87501
TW: 130 State Capitol, 75 Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155

Good News

As Americans of Conscience, we celebrate!

Progress on issues previously featured as actions in the Checklist

Reproductive Rights

Tribal

  • The annual Sumi’nungwa Hopi Festival returns after a two-year hiatus.
  • The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head Aquinnah and community volunteers plant beach grass to protect their homelands from the impacts of climate change.
  • Patrice H. Kunesh of Standing Rock Lakota descent is nominated for Commissioner for the HHS Administration for Native Americans.
  • SCOTUS affirms the inherent right of the Ute Mountain Ute to exercise sovereignty over crimes against Native women on the Tribe’s lands.

National

State

Local

Corporate/business

Groups and organizations

  • NAACP will partner with Vote.org to boost Black voter turnout in November’s midterms.
  • The Magnolia Mother’s Trust initiative provides low-income Black mothers in Jackson, MS $1,000 cash on a monthly basis, no strings attached, for 12 months.
  • The Faith for Equality Coalition launches Faith for Pride, a month-long effort to include progress on LGBTQ+ rights in religious services and programs.
  • Civil Eats suggests a reading list to increase knowledge of injustice in food systems and how to improve justice. 
  • Nearly 200 workers at MA Planned Parenthood clinics file to join the 1199SEIU union.
  • Amazon workers in NYC vote to unionize.
  • GLAAD and other LGBTQ+ rights advocates boycott Chelsea Piers following an event featuring FL’s governor, who signed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
  • Gun safety activists protest an NRA convention following multiple mass shootings.

News with heart


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